RentisCheap — Short-Stay Rental Marketplace Case Study

Company: Mobirevo Product: RentisCheap Domain: Rental Marketplace Role: Product Designer (Product Engineer mindset) Timeline: November 2023 – July 2024 Platforms: Guest Web App, Host Web App, Admin Governance Platform

Overview

RentisCheap is a multi-sided short-stay rental marketplace designed to connect property owners with guests seeking temporary accommodations. The product was conceived to solve trust, discoverability, booking friction, and operational inefficiencies commonly found in emerging rental markets.

The objective was not just to build a booking platform, but to engineer a scalable rental ecosystem with clearly defined roles, robust operational tooling, and a seamless end-to-end booking experience.

Role & Responsibilities

I worked with Mobirevo as the Product Designer, operating with a product engineer mindset, bridging UX strategy, system thinking, and implementation realities.

My responsibilities included:

• Leading product discovery and requirement clarification with stakeholders
• Translating business goals into scalable product architecture
• Designing end-to-end user journeys across multiple user roles
• Producing wireframes, interaction flows, and high-fidelity UI
• Collaborating closely with frontend and backend engineers to ensure feasibility
• Supporting implementation through design reviews and iteration

This role required balancing user experience, business logic, and technical constraints across a complex marketplace system.

Team Structure & Collaboration

• 4 Software Engineers responsible for frontend, backend, and integrations
• 1 UX/UI Designer (my role)
• 1 QA Engineer ensuring functional and edge-case validation
• 1 DevOps Engineer handling deployment, CI/CD, and infrastructure
• 1 Project Manager coordinating delivery timelines
• 1 Project Supervisor providing strategic oversight

I worked cross-functionally with engineering and QA throughout the lifecycle to ensure design decisions aligned with system behavior and data models.

Problem Definition

Guest Perspective

• Difficulty finding trusted short-stay accommodations
• Poor search and filtering experiences
• Complicated booking and payment flows
• Limited communication with hosts

Host Perspective

• Manual and fragmented property management processes
• Limited visibility into bookings and availability
• Lack of real-time insights into performance

Admin Perspective

• Need for strong governance to maintain trust
• Oversight of users, properties, and transactions
• Operational visibility across the platform

Product Vision

To create a robust rental marketplace where:

• Guests can confidently discover, book, and manage stays
• Hosts can efficiently list, manage, and monetize properties
• Administrators can enforce standards, monitor activity, and scale operations

Discovery & Design Process

The project followed a structured, iterative design process:

Discovery & Ideation

• Stakeholder workshops to define success metrics
• Competitive analysis of global rental platforms
• Identification of critical booking and trust moments

User Flow Architecture

• Definition of role-based flows (Guest, Host, Admin)
• Mapping of booking lifecycle from search to checkout
• Identification of system dependencies and edge cases

Wireframing & Validation

• Low-fidelity wireframes to validate structure and hierarchy
• Early engineering feedback to ensure feasibility

High-Fidelity Design & Prototyping

• Pixel-perfect UI design
• Responsive layouts across breakpoints
• Interaction states and system feedback

Guest Web Application

Objective

Design a frictionless, trustworthy booking experience that works seamlessly across devices.

Key Features

• Property Search & Discovery: Guests can search properties using location-aware inputs powered by Google Maps API. Filters include price range, amenities, property type, and availability, enabling quick narrowing of options.
• Property Listings & Details: Each listing presents high-quality imagery, clear pricing, availability calendars, amenities, and house rules, designed to reduce uncertainty and improve booking confidence.
• Booking Flow: A guided, step-by-step booking process minimizes cognitive load. Pricing breakdowns, dates, and policies are clearly displayed before confirmation.
• Secure Payments: Multiple payment providers (PayPal, Payoneer, Stripe) were integrated to support global users, with emphasis on transparency and transaction safety.
• Guest–Host Communication: Built-in messaging enables clarification before and after booking, improving trust and reducing disputes.

Host Web Application

Objective

Empower hosts with operational tools to manage rentals efficiently from any device.

Key Features

• Property Management: Hosts can create and manage listings with rich descriptions, images, pricing rules, and availability calendars.
• Availability & Booking Control: Real-time availability updates prevent double bookings and ensure accurate guest expectations.
• Booking Management: Hosts can accept, decline, or manage booking requests, view guest details, and track upcoming stays.
• Guest Communication: Integrated messaging allows hosts to provide instructions, clarify expectations, and improve guest experience.

Admin Governance Platform

Objective

Provide administrators with full control and visibility over marketplace operations.

Key Features

• User & Host Management: Administrators can manage user accounts, verify hosts, and enforce platform policies.
• Property Approval Workflow: Listings undergo review to ensure quality and compliance before going live.
• Transaction Monitoring: Financial flows are tracked to detect anomalies and ensure transparency.
• Reporting & Insights: Admins can access operational data to guide platform decisions and scaling strategies.

Design Principles

• Mobile-first and responsive design
• Clear information hierarchy for complex data
• Trust-focused UI patterns
• Consistent component usage across platforms
• Design decisions informed by technical constraints

Challenges & Solutions

Challenge: Balancing multiple user roles Solution: Solved with role-specific dashboards and flows

Challenge: Reducing booking friction Solution: Addressed through simplified checkout and clear pricing

Challenge: Establishing trust Solution: Achieved via transparent listings, verification, and secure payments

Outcome & Impact

• Delivered a scalable, multi-sided rental marketplace
• Enabled efficient host onboarding and property management
• Improved guest booking confidence and usability
• Provided administrators with strong governance tools

Reflection

RentisCheap strengthened my experience designing and engineering marketplace platforms. Approaching the project with a product engineer mindset ensured that design decisions translated cleanly into implementation, resulting in a system that balances usability, scalability, and operational control.